Orange Pepper Soup (veggie friendly)

Serving Suggestion

Oh yes!!

Easy and effective, this always goes down well with family and guests alike. It makes a classy starter for any dinner party and It's also a healthy (no fat) way to scoff for comfort purposes and works just as well with red peppers and green peppers.  So easy and for most this is a simple store cupboard soup.  We have orange peppers left in the veggie drawer before Mr Tesco visits, hence it is orange pepper soup today!

INGREDIENTS

2 large orange peppers
1 Red Pepper
1 large white onion (red for red pepper soup)
4 cloves of garlic
3 medium potatoes
2 Vegetable Stock cubes in boiling water (or homemade stock which is better)
1/2 can of condensed milk (not the cream stuff you use for desserts and not if you want fat free- try skimmed milk or naff all)
Teaspoon of Basil
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Fresh Basil for the garnish (optional)

METHOD

All the veg should be chopped roughly don't finely chop anything!!

Chuck it in the pot!!

Lightly soften the peppers in fry light and put into a big pot with the potatoes (uncooked)and garlic and onion (also uncooked).   Cover with the vegetable stock.  If their isn't enough to just about cover the veg, add a splash or two of water to top it up.  

Bring the pan to the boil momentarily then turn the heat right down, put a lid on it and leave to simmer for at least 40 minutes.

Blitz and add Basil, black pepper and condensed milk to taste later on

Blitz the mixture using a hand blender (being careful not to splat yourself with hot soup) then leave settle for a while (or not if you're in a rush).  Just before serving, warm the soup through gently adding salt and black pepper and the dried basil.  Then take the condensed milk and give the soup a healthy swirl. The soup shouldn't be too thick, if you have followed the recipe you will get a lovely consistency.

Serve piping hot with fresh, crusty bread or ciabbata and a sprig of basil. 

PREPARATION: 10 minutes
COOKING TIME: 40 minutes
FINISHING TOUCHES: 5 minutes 

Yum! My soup got a "restaurant rating" from my Mummy so I must be doing something right!

Lil Bro's Chocolate Brownie

This simple recipe has been in our family file for at least twenty years thanks to my little brother who started it all those years ago!

This morning Mum and I worked together on producing this little dirty b*stard (though why she cleaned the prep area first I have no idea as there are still chocolate spray marks up the wall from my last attempt!) Here is how it goes ...

A few tips from me would be to add a few white chocolate buttons, ensure the cocoa and butter mix is hot when mixing with the other ingredients and cook for no more than 20 minutes to ensure it has a proper gooey, dirty consistancy.  As soon as the top crisps, wap it out!!!(Oh and fruits with a sprinkling of icing sugar makes it look nice)

So much history on one piece of paper - Mum worked for Immuno (a decent place) and lil bro's handwriting had finally become legible (shame about the spelling though)!! 

Linguine Carbonara For Busy People

Another quick and simple recipe for those hectic days.  I love this one so much it hurts!


THE SAUCE:

• A small pot of double cream
• A generous blob of Mascarpone
• 2 fist full's of fresh Parmesan
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 pack of pancetta
• Garlic (not too much because it needs to be delicate)
• Heaps of dried parsley if you have it
• Half a pack of diced baby mushrooms (optional)
• Seasoning to taste
• 1 Egg (whisked)

Lightly fry the pancetta and mushrooms in a tiny bit of olive oil and add the stock cube. Then chuck it all in a saucepan (larger the better) and heat through very slowly whilst cooking the linguine.  Add the linguine and stir into the sauce making sure all the pasta gets coated evenly.  It is important not to burn the sauce whilst you gradually add the egg.  Keep the hob low to stop the eggs becoming scrambed - it is minging!

Quickly serve along with ciabatta and a green salad.  Totally yum!!

SERVES 2-3

PREPARATION TIME: 5 MINS

COOKING TIME: 20 MINS

That Fast Classic - Pasta bake

There are so many ways to prepare a pasta bake and on my maiden voyage there was a lot of controversy as to whether you boiled the pasta first and wether you make a runny sauce or one with texture.  I don't usually mind being given advice in the kitchen but on this occasion I was having none of it! The pressure for it to work was quite stressful as I really didn't want to here those punch-worthy words "Told You So!".  

So here is what I did and though I say it myself, it was pretty good.  I decided on a tuna bake and did a rather good job of concealing the offending article!

THE TOMATO SAUCE:

• One pack of Passata (you can add a shop bought tomato sauce if you like too)
• Loads of Basil and Oregano
• A sprinkling of chilli seeds (literally a tiny amount)
• Parsley (dried)
• Seasoning
• Half of a large tin of sweetcorn
• 1 tin of tuna

So easy, bung it all in a pan and put on a low heat whilst you move onto the veg

THE VEG:

• 1 large onion
• Garlic (you decide how much)
• 1 green pepper
• Diced Courgette (optional)
• Carrots (optional)

Soften all these in a wok being careful not to caramelise the onions and chuck it all into the sauce pot.

Whilst all this is going on you should prepare your pasta.  Cook it properly.  I went for shells but penne would suffice.  Spaghetti wouldn't work as well as the others.

Stick the pasta into a pyrex type dish then pile the sauce on top.  Mix well then add a little pepper and Italian seasoning.

THE CHEESE TOPPING:

• Half a block of reduced fat strong cheddar
• Parmesan
• 1 slice of grated bread (optional)

Grate the lot and top your bake.  

PREPERATION TIME: 15 minutes

OVEN TIME: 30 minutes

SERVES 4-5

Too easy and very effective.  Serve with salad and/or garlic bread.  Great if you are in a hurry.  Yum!!